BEIJING: China rebuffed Taiwan’s objections in a deepening row over the opening of new flight paths in the Taiwan Strait, saying on Wednesday that the space separating routes over the waterway was more than is mandated by international standards.
This month China opened several new air routes, including a northbound route up the sensitive Taiwan Strait that divides China from the island. Taiwan says it was done without its agreement, contravening what the democratic government in Taipei has said was a 2015 deal to first discuss such flight paths.
In response, self-governed Taiwan has withheld approval of routine applications from China Eastern and Xiamen Airlines, majority owned by China Southern Airlines, to add Lunar New Year flights because the airlines had used the disputed air routes.
Taiwan has expressed concern the new routes are too close to existing routes that link it to airports on two groups of Taiwan-controlled islands lying close to China — Kinmen which sits opposite to the Chinese city of Xiamen and the Matsu archipelago near to Fuzhou.
Multiple daily flights connect the islands to mainland Taiwan, while Xiamen and Fuzhou are also busy airports.
Speaking at a regular news briefing, Ma Xiaoguang, spokesman for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said there was at least 23 kilometers separating the routes.
“This type of separation far exceeds lateral separation standards in the rules of the International Civil Aviation Organization,” Ma said. “So it can be said that the connecting routes are safe.”
Kinmen and Matsu have both been under Taiwan’s control since defeated Nationalist forces fled to Taiwan at the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949.
Frequently shelled by the Chinese during the height of the Cold War, both are now popular tourist destinations and connected to China by ferry.
Kinmen’s airport is the busiest, with regular though less frequent flights to Matsu’s two airports from Taiwan.
China considers Taiwan a wayward province, and relations have cooled dramatically since Tsai Ing-wen of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party took office as Taiwan’s president in 2016.
China says plenty of space separates Taiwan flights amid route row
China says plenty of space separates Taiwan flights amid route row
Closing Bell: Saudi main index closes in red at 10,414
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index closed lower on Wednesday, shedding 38.85 points, or 0.37 percent, to finish at 10,414.06.
Total trading turnover on the benchmark index reached SR3.46 billion ($920 million), with 123 stocks advancing and 134 declining.
The Kingdom’s parallel market Nomu also shed 41.61 points, or 0.18 percent, to close at 23,428.67.
The MSCI Tadawul Index edged down 0.45 percent to 1,368.36.
Arabian Drilling Co. was the best-performing stock on the main market, with its share price rising 6.8 percent to SR102.90.
Naqi Water Co. gained 4.30 percent to SR58.25, while Saudi Ground Services Co. advanced 3.78 percent to SR38.42.
Tihama Advertising, Public Relations and Marketing Co. saw its share price fall 4.95 percent to SR16.31.
AlAhli REIT Fund 1 also declined 3.53 percent to SR6.29.
On the announcements front, United Mining Industries Co., listed on the parallel market, said it has begun commercial production of gypsum board at its plant in Yanbu.
In a Tadawul statement, the company said the financial impact of the project’s commercial production will be reflected in the first quarter of 2026.
United Mining Industries Co.’s share price was unchanged, closing at SR42.54.
Dkhoun National Trading Co. said its shareholders approved the board’s recommendation to distribute interim dividends on a semi-annual or quarterly basis for 2025.
According to a Tadawul statement, shareholders also approved transferring the balance of the company’s statutory reserve, valued at SR2.43 million, to retained earnings.
Dkhoun National Trading Co.’s shares saw no trades and closed at SR65.
